The franchise that just won't die! Development on THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE SILVER CHAIR has begun!

After the disappointing domestic performance of the last two CHRONICLES OF NARNIA films, most of us thought the series was dead for now. The importance of worldwide grosses is proven yet again though as today The Mark Gordon and C.S. Lewis Companies have announced that they have begun development on a fourth film in the franchise based on THE SILVER CHAIR. Here is the press release with the announcement:

The C.S. Lewis Company has entered into an agreement with The Mark Gordon Company to jointly develop and produce THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE SILVER CHAIR, the fourth book published in C.S. Lewis’ famed fantasy series. The announcement was made today by The C.S. Lewis Company.

Mark Gordon stated, “Like many readers, both young and old, I am a huge fan of C.S. Lewis’s beautiful and allegorical world of Narnia. These fantasy stories inspire real-world passion among millions of devoted fans around the world. As we prepare to bring the next book to life, we are humbled and excited to contribute to the outstanding legacy of Narnia.”

Douglas Gresham, stepson of C.S. Lewis stated, “I have a great deal of respect for Mark Gordon’s work and am confident that together we can bring the beauty and magical delight that Narnia engenders in the hearts of those who read the books to the screen in ‘The Silver Chair.’ I am very much looking forward to diving once more into Narnia, this time with Mark Gordon and his team.”

Mark Gordon and Douglas Gresham along with Vincent Sieber, the LA based Director of The C.S. Lewis Company, will serve as producers and work with The Mark Gordon Company on developing the script. Michele Wolkoff and Sara Smith will oversee for The Mark Gordon Company.

Vincent Sieber stated, “We are very excited by this partnership and to be able to work on this movie from its earliest conception on such a collaborative basis. It gives us the opportunity to develop a script and then produce a film with some of the most talented industry professionals whilst remaining completely faithful to this much loved book.”

The first three Narnia films combined have grossed over $1.6 billion at the worldwide box office.

A classic series of seven novels that have sold over 100 million copies worldwide, C.S. Lewis’ “The Chronicles of Narnia” began with the publication of “The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe” in 1950. Six more novels (including the prequel, “The Magician’s Nephew,” and the sequels, “The Horse and His Boy,” “Prince Caspian,” “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader,” “The Silver Chair” and “The Last Battle”) would follow in the next six years. The final title in the series, “The Last Battle,” was awarded the highest mark of excellence in children’s literature, the prestigious Carnegie Award.

There are still many questions to be answered beyond even just the basic questions of who is going to write, direct, star, etc or when it is being planned for release. With this film we don’t even know which studio is going to distribute or have involvement with this project. (Disney released the first two films, and Fox released THE VOYAGE OF THE DAWN TREADER.) So we really have no idea where this is going yet.